


Excerpt from Intro to Amestrian Mythology

by LadyNightsong



Series: Sicut in Caelo et in Terra [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Deity Au, Gen, but it helps you understand the AU so its v important, faux academic text lmao, just an intro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 05:30:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12314706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyNightsong/pseuds/LadyNightsong
Summary: An excerpt from chapter one of Levan Howard's highly regarded text Intro to Amestrian Mythology, with research and knowledge instrumental in understanding the belief system of the Amestrian culture and the influences that developed it.





	Excerpt from Intro to Amestrian Mythology

**Author's Note:**

> Is 'fake academic text' lazy? Maybe. But I was trying to explain this AU to my friend and she had so many questions, I realized this is a little too complicated not to come with a primer before we get into the fic itself. So here's a 400 word intro to the deity au. Stay tuned! Thanks!
> 
> Also I know that no pulled excerpt would have cut-off sentences but academic text has lots of explanation and analysis and connection-drawing that I want to emulate but not write so bear with me haha

Intro to Amestrian Mythology, published by Levan Howard, year of publication 2063  
[excerpt beginning chapter 1, _Prevalent Themes and Possible Influences_ ]

A scholar of mythology looking at the influential mythos of the Amestrian-Xerxian people would identify a few major themes central to their belief system. Like the Greco-Roman mythos, it featured a pantheon of deities, associated with various aspects of daily life. This pantheon functioned in a structured hierarchy, and surviving writings suggest it to be very rigid, with acolytes and priests of more highly-regarded deities having upward mobility to a higher socio-economic caste than their lower-ranked counterparts. The social and cultural impact of [...]

At the top of this hierarchy were two deities in direct opposition to each other, and there are some references to them being locked in an eternal conflict, similar to Persian Zoroastrianism from centuries earlier. Greatly documented was the force of order and creation, Mal’dyrh, subject of their creation myth in which he wills the world and humanity into existence. There is solid evidence of belief in an opposing force, Mal’bys, who is mainly documented in rituals for things such as necromancy and more occult, extreme belief circles. This deity was believed to be a force of chaos and destruction. However, an [...]

A second prevalent theme would be that of balance, similar to the Xingese concept of yin and yang. One example of this would be the existence of two opposing forces at the top of the hierarchy. While many deities had highly positive connotations and roles, roughly the same amount had distinctly negative connotations: notably, the god of degradation and disease, as well as the god of war and total victory. A significant exception would include their god of fire and determination, Mal’adar. While it was at first assumed there was a negative connotation based upon early writings, later primary sources were found in direct contradiction to this, and there is an active discussion on the topic. The significance [...]

Often, a deity would be associated with a physical idea, such as fire, and then its traditional archetypal meanings, such as passion or dedication. This is similar to the Greco-Roman mythos, in which a deity is associated with an entire idea or concept. A significant difference, however, would be the Amestrians’ firm belief in magic and ritual, with certain recovered myths featuring the partially-mortal offspring of these deities who had powers similar to their godly parents’ given to them by their heritage. Curiously, there are no iden [...]

[excerpt fin]


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